This time of year it can seem almost cheesy to express gratitude, however there is a good reason this holiday is all about giving thanks.

Happiness cannot be achieved through the acquisition of temporal desires and “keeping up with the Jones’.” True happiness comes only through faith, love, and obedience in our Father and Heaven and our relationships with His children. Each of God’s commandments are part of His plan of Happiness –a plan which shows us how to be happy.

“Oh give thanks to the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34

One commandment we are given is to be thankful. When you focus on the things you have to be grateful for, and when you express your gratitude to your God and to those around you, you prove to yourself that you have much to be happy about.

During this season, take the time to kneel down before your Father in Heaven, and express a prayer of gratitude. You’ll find that doing so will make this holiday season full of more happiness than it can bring on its own.

The season for delicious goodness has finally arrived, and I am sure we are all anxious to indulge. I’m still on a family history kick, so I couldn’t help but post a family recipe from my dear great aunt who is fighting a brain tumor as we speak. In her honor I present to you this delicious brownie cake recipe.

Mix together sugar and flour and set aside. Combine in saucepan water, butter or margarine and cocoa. On medium heat bring it to a boil and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and combine both mixtures. Add eggs, buttermilk, soda, and vanilla. Beat well. Pour into a greased and floured 11x17x1-inch baking pan.

Bake at 350° F. for 20 minutes.

Make Boiled Frosting 5 minutes before cake is done.

Boiled Frosting

1 cube butter or margarine

3 Tbsp. cocoa

1 cup chopped nuts

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6 Tbsp. milk

1 lb. package powered sugar

Heat in a saucepan on medium heat with 1 cube butter or margarine, cocoa, and milk. Bring to a boil; remove from heat; add powdered sugar, nuts, and vanilla mixing well. Frost cake as soon as it is taken from oven.

I like to quickly sprinkle chopped walnuts or sliced almonds on top while the frosting is still hot. You have to be fast before the frosting sets up or the nuts will not stay put.

This is a recipe I’ve seen pinned fairly often, and to be honest, the main reason I want to share it with you is because it is DELICIOUS. It’s perfect for fall (and pretty much any other time) and the ingredients aren’t too crazy.

Photo from here.

The original recipe can be found here. I made a few small adjustments (of course) to make it even easier on my limited pantry and my tastebuds.

Firstly, I did not have any quinoa on hand, so I substituted white rice for it. I cooked the chicken and white rice ahead of time to save me an extra half hour; the recipe has you cook both of those in the same pot (which is nice if you have the time).

The only other thing that takes a little bit of extra time is the cooking and mashing of the butternut squash. But trust me, it’s WORTH IT.

Also I left out the olives, because who likes those? (Sorry olive lovers.)

This is such a comforting meal. It is a “hearty stew” as the name implies, but it doesn’t feel heavy after you eat it (unless you consume the entire pot, as I came close to doing). The chunks of squash give the soup a creamier texture than it would have without, and you don’t even have to feel guilty because you didn’t use cream! Use this recipe on a crisp fall day and you will be more than satisfied.

The cold season is finally deciding to settle in, and that means it’s time to break out the cider, hot cocoa, and . . . pumpkin cookies! Normally I make my pumpkin cookies with a box of spice cake, but I decided to venture out a little this time. Though not as simple as using a box cake, this recipe is still really easy and delicious. I made these cookies to deliver to some friends and they loved it!

I made a few adjustments to the recipe, because I was only cooking for two (the recipe calls for 1 pound of pasta? Whew). Basically, I just added the amounts of ingredients that looked like enough to me, and luckily the recipe easily accommodates those changes. So if you’re cooking for one, two, or for all five of your roommates, this recipe is really adjustable.

Don’t have thyme? Don’t worry, I didn’t either. I used a couple dashes of oregano, which I really liked. Basil or Italian seasoning would work well with this dish.

Now for the most important part; how did it taste? I think that every dinner should have a protein, but I didn’t even miss it with this dish. It has a light, creamy, Italian taste. All of the vegetables work really well together, and parmesan is always a winner. Those things, along with the pasta, fill you up better than I thought just vegetables and pasta would.

The only thing to be careful of is how much water you use, because otherwise, your sauce turns out a little watery and not so delicious. If I made this again, I would be sure to salt the water that everything boils in, add the other seasonings sooner, and drain off some of the water to avoid the watery taste my sauce had a hint of.

All in all, this recipe is easy to follow, easy to adjust, and you only have to clean one pot afterwards! Win win win.

Crumble together flour, shortening, and salt (preferably with a pastry cutter). Add egg, water, and vinegar and combine. DO NOT OVER HANDLE. Combine only until ingredients form a cohesive ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and let dough rest for half an hour. Roll out on floured counter and place in pie plate. Fill with deliciousness.

Makes two 9 inch pie crusts.

*A note from the contributor: Pie crust is tricky. I got this recipe from my grandma and it’s relatively no-fuss and results in perfect, flaky crust every single time.

Mix water and instant potatoes. The potatoes will be drier than if you were making mashed potatoes to eat plain. Stir in the egg, salt, and pepper until all combined. Slowly knead in flour until you have a relatively stiff dough (may be more, may be less than the 1c). Roll dough into little logs and cut into 1/2-1 inch pieces. Boil water in a medium saucepan. Put one layer of gnocchi in at a time. Use a slotted spoon to remove each gnocchi as it floats to the top.

Serve with your favorite pasta sauce!

*You can substitute the instant potatoes with real mashed potatoes, however this may change the amount of flour you want to use.

Whether it’s beginning to look a lot like springtime where you live or you’re still stuck in a polar vortex, a fresh spinach salad sprinkled with homemade poppy seed dressing will always brighten your day.